Largest cities in the United States by population
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America's largest cities
Local government often receives only the most basic media coverage, despite the fact that the decisions of local officials frequently have the most significant day-to-day impact on citizens of any level of government. Our editorial approach is to identify and fill gaps in the coverage of local politics across the United States to the extent that our resources allow. This requires prioritization of larger municipalities. Over time, we intend to expand our coverage scope.
The table below lists these 100 largest cities, their 2013 population, their current mayor, the approximate total expenditures of the city budget, and whether each is holding municipal elections in 2019. Although a majority of these cities hold nonpartisan elections, the table below states the partisan affiliation of most of their mayors. Ballotpedia determined the partisan affiliation of each mayor in one of three ways: by cross-checking multiple media outlets that identified someone as affiliated with one political party; by verifying that a mayor previously ran in a partisan election for another office; or by contacting the mayors directly.
| 100 Largest Cities By Population | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City | Population (2013) | Mayor | Budget | Elections in 2019? |
| 1 | New York, New York | 8,405,837 | Bill de Blasio (D) | $73,000,000,000 | Yes |
| 2 | Los Angeles, California | 3,884,307 | Eric Garcetti (D) | $8,100,000,000 | No |
| 3 | Chicago, Illinois | 2,718,782 | Rahm Emanuel (D) | $7,300,000,000 | Yes |
| 4 | Houston, Texas | 2,195,914 | Sylvester Turner (D) | $5,100,000,000 | Yes |
| 5 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1,553,165 | James Kenney (D) | $3,950,000,000 | Yes |
| 6 | Phoenix, Arizona | 1,513,367 | Kate Gallego (D) | $3,700,000,000 | Yes |
| 7 | San Antonio, Texas | 1,409,019 | Ron Nirenberg (I) | $2,400,000,000 | Yes |
| 8 | San Diego, California | 1,355,896 | Kevin Faulconer (R) | $3,200,000,000 | No |
| 9 | Dallas, Texas | 1,257,676 | Mike Rawlings (D) | $2,800,000,000 | Yes |
| 10 | San Jose, California | 998,537 | Sam Liccardo (D) | $3,000,000,000 | No |
| 11 | Austin, Texas | 885,400 | Stephen Adler (D) | $3,500,000,000 | No |
| 12 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 843,393 | Joseph Hogsett (D) | $1,030,000,000 | Yes |
| 13 | Jacksonville, Florida | 842,583 | Lenny Curry (R) | $1,040,000,000 | Yes |
| 14 | San Francisco, California | 837,442 | London Breed (D) | 9,700,000,000 | Yes |
| 15 | Columbus, Ohio | 822,553 | Andrew J. Ginther (D) | $814,000,000 | Yes |
| 16 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 792,862 | Vi Lyles (D) | $2,100,000,000 | Yes |
| 17 | Fort Worth, Texas | 792,727 | Betsy Price (R) | $1,500,000,000 | Yes |
| 18 | Detroit, Michigan | 688,701 | Mike Duggan (D) | $2,600,000,000 | No |
| 19 | El Paso, Texas | 674,433 | Dee Margo (R) | $801,400,000 | No |
| 20 | Memphis, Tennessee | 653,450 | Jim Strickland (D) | $618,000,000 | Yes |
| 21 | Seattle, Washington | 652,405 | Jenny Durkan (D) | $4,400,000,000 | Yes |
| 22 | Denver, Colorado | 649,495 | Michael B. Hancock (D) | $1,490,000,000 | Yes |
| 23 | Boston, Massachusetts | 645,966 | Martin Walsh (D) | $2,700,000,000 | Yes |
| 24 | Nashville, Tennessee | 634,464 | David Briley (D) | $1,800,000,000 | Yes |
| 25 | Baltimore, Maryland | 622,104 | Bernard C. "Jack" Young (D) | $1,648,000,000 | No |
| 26 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 610,613 | David Holt (R) | $1,100,000,000 | Yes |
| 27 | Louisville, Kentucky | 609,893 | Greg Fischer (D) | $750,000,000 | No |
| 28 | Portland, Oregon | 609,456 | Ted Wheeler (D) | $3,600,000,000 | No |
| 29 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 603,488 | Carolyn Goodman (Nonpartisan) | $1,077,000,000 | Yes |
| 30 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 599,164 | Tom Barrett (D) | $590,000,000 | Yes |
| 31 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 556,495 | Tim Keller (D) | $893,000,000 | Yes |
| 32 | Tucson, Arizona | 526,116 | Jonathan Rothschild (D) | $1,265,000,000 | Yes |
| 33 | Fresno, California | 509,924 | Lee Brand (R) | $977,000,000 | Yes |
| 34 | Sacramento, California | 479,686 | Darrell Steinberg (D) | $819,000,000 | No |
| 35 | Long Beach, California | 469,428 | Robert Garcia (D) | $3,100,000,000 | No |
| 36 | Kansas City, Missouri | 467,007 | Sly James (D) | $1,400,000,000 | Yes |
| 37 | Mesa, Arizona | 457,587 | John Giles (R) | $1,300,000,000 | No |
| 38 | Virginia Beach, Virginia | 448,479 | Bob Dyer (R) | $1,800,000,000 | Yes |
| 39 | Atlanta, Georgia | 447,841 | Keisha Bottoms (D) | $533,000,000 | Yes |
| 40 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 439,886 | John W. Suthers (R) | $249,000,000 | Yes |
| 41 | Omaha, Nebraska | 434,353 | Jean Stothert (R) | $800,000,000 | No |
| 42 | Raleigh, North Carolina | 431,746 | Nancy McFarlane (I) | $754,000,000 | Yes |
| 43 | Miami, Florida | 417,650 | Francis Suarez (R) | $523,000,000 | Yes |
| 44 | Oakland, California | 406,253 | Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf (D) | $2,000,000,000 | No |
| 45 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 400,070 | Jacob Frey (D) | $1,200,000,000 | No |
| 46 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 398,121 | G. T. Bynum (R) | $597,000,000 | No |
| 47 | Cleveland, Ohio | 390,113 | Frank Jackson (D) | $1,470,000,000 | No |
| 48 | Wichita, Kansas | 386,552 | Jeff Longwell (R) | $577,000,000 | Yes |
| 49 | Arlington, Texas | 379,577 | Jeff Williams (R) | $490,000,000 | Yes |
| 50 | New Orleans, Louisiana | 378,715 | LaToya Cantrell (D) | $505,000,000 | No |
| 51 | Bakersfield, California | 363,630 | Karen Goh (R) | $418,000,000 | No |
| 52 | Tampa, Florida | 352,957 | Jane Castor (D) | $830,000,000 | Yes |
| 53 | Honolulu, Hawaii | 347,884 | Kirk Caldwell (D) | $2,100,000,000 | Yes |
| 54 | Aurora, Colorado | 345,803 | Bob LeGare (R) | $591,400,000 | Yes |
| 55 | Anaheim, California | 345,012 | Harry Sidhu (R) | $1,600,000,000 | No |
| 56 | Santa Ana, California | 334,227 | Miguel Pulido (D) | $430,000,000 | Yes |
| 57 | St. Louis, Missouri | 318,416 | Lyda Krewson (D) | $985,200,000 | Yes |
| 58 | Riverside, California | 316,619 | Rusty Bailey (I) | $894,000,000 | Yes |
| 59 | Corpus Christi, Texas | 316,381 | Joe McComb (R) | $772,000,000 | No |
| 60 | Lexington, Kentucky | 308,428 | Linda Gorton (R) | $540,000,000 | No |
| 61 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 305,841 | Bill Peduto (D) | $488,000,000 | Yes |
| 62 | Anchorage, Alaska | 300,950 | Ethan Berkowitz (D) | $471,000,000 | Yes |
| 63 | Stockton, California | 298,118 | Michael Tubbs (D) | $632,000,000 | No |
| 64 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 297,517 | John Cranley (D) | $358,000,000 | No |
| 65 | St. Paul, Minnesota | 294,873 | Melvin Carter III (D) | $515,500,000 | Yes |
| 66 | Toledo, Ohio | 282,313 | Wade Kapszukiewicz (D) | $650,000,000 | Yes |
| 67 | Greensboro, North Carolina | 279,639 | Nancy B. Vaughan (D) | $472,000,000 | No |
| 68 | Newark, New Jersey | 278,427 | Ras J. Baraka (D) | $800,000,000 | No |
| 69 | Plano, Texas | 274,409 | Harry LaRosiliere (R) | $492,000,000 | Yes |
| 70 | Henderson, Nevada | 270,811 | Debra March (D) | $482,000,000 | Yes |
| 71 | Lincoln, Nebraska | 268,738 | Chris Beutler (D) | $159,000,000 | Yes |
| 72 | Buffalo, New York | 258,959 | Byron Brown (D) | $479,900,000 | Yes |
| 73 | Jersey City, New Jersey | 257,342 | Steven Fulop (D) | $535,300,000 | No |
| 74 | Chula Vista, California | 256,780 | Mary Salas (D) | $293,400,000 | No |
| 75 | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 256,496 | Tom Henry (D) | $190,200,000 | Yes |
| 76 | Orlando, Florida | 255,483 | Buddy Dyer (D) | $934,000,000 | Yes |
| 77 | St. Petersburg, Florida | 249,688 | Rick Kriseman (D) | $483,000,000 | Yes |
| 78 | Chandler, Arizona | 249,146 | Kevin Hartke (Nonpartisan) | $783,000,000 | No |
| 79 | Laredo, Texas | 248,142 | Pete Saenz (I) | $556,000,000 | No |
| 80 | Norfolk, Virginia | 246,139 | Kenneth Alexander (D) | $1,100,000,000 | No |
| 81 | Durham, North Carolina | 245,475 | Steve Schewel (D) | $389,900,000 | Yes |
| 82 | Madison, Wisconsin | 243,344 | Satya Rhodes-Conway (D) | $283,100,000 | Yes |
| 83 | Lubbock, Texas | 239,538 | Dan Pope (R) | $674,500,000 | No |
| 84 | Irvine, California | 236,716 | Christina Shea (R) | $401,000,000 | No |
| 85 | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | 236,441 | Allen Joines (D) | $414,700,000 | No |
| 86 | Glendale, Arizona | 234,632 | Jerry Weiers (R) | $632,000,000 | No |
| 87 | Garland, Texas | 234,566 | Lori Barnett Dodson | $629,100,000 | Yes |
| 88 | Hialeah, Florida | 233,394 | Carlos Hernandez (R) | $257,000,000 | Yes |
| 89 | Reno, Nevada | 233,294 | Hillary Schieve (Nonpartisan) | $492,000,000 | No |
| 90 | Chesapeake, Virginia | 230,571 | Richard West (R) | $937,800,000 | Yes |
| 91 | Gilbert, Arizona | 229,972 | Jenn Daniels (R) | $615,000,000 | No |
| 92 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | 229,426 | Sharon Weston Broome (D) | $830,000,000 | Yes |
| 93 | Irving, Texas | 228,653 | Rick Stopfer (R) | $526,500,000 | Yes |
| 94 | Scottsdale, Arizona | 226,918 | Jim Lane (R) | $1,200,000,000 | No |
| 95 | North Las Vegas, Nevada | 226,877 | John J. Lee (D) | $413,890,000 | Yes |
| 96 | Fremont, California | 224,922 | Lily Mei (Nonpartisan) | $238,460,000 | No |
| 97 | Boise, Idaho | 214,237 | David Bieter (D) | $514,900,000 | Yes |
| 98 | San Bernardino, California | 213,708 | John Valdivia (R) | $128,000,000 | No |
| 99 | Birmingham, Alabama | 212,113 | Randall L. Woodfin (D) | $411,000,000 | No |
| 100 | Richmond, Virginia | 207,878 | Levar Stoney (D) | $1,722,417,160 | Yes |
What about Washington, DC?
For the purposes of our coverage, Ballotpedia treats Washington, D.C. as a state rather than as a city. The District of Columbia is the federal city, but not a city within any state. It is established by the Constitution as a separate District, within which was to be the offices of the federal government. Although it has a council that has many of the same powers as that of a city council, it has also been delegated by Congress some powers that would be more typical of a state legislature. Congress also has supreme authority over the district, which means it can review and overturn any acts of the council. Want to learn more about our nation's capital? Click here.
See also
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Footnotes
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